To find out what your dog's needs are, you have to experiment a bit. Here are a few examples to consider:
- Some dogs don't tolerate certain types of meat very well. You'll have to find out what works best for your individual dog. Some don't have a problem eating chicken (or poultry in general) and do really well on it, others don't do well on it at all. This can go to such extremes as having seizures for example. Others get pretty bad digestive upsets from eating pork. If your dog does well on the commercial food you are feeding now, you should pick the type of meat used in it to get started with feeding raw.
- Some dogs don't tolerate grains. Again, this can be specific type(s), or all grains in general. Grains in themselves are not "bad" for dogs and can certainly have a place in a well balanced home-prepared diet, some dogs just do better without them.
- Some dogs don't tolerate dairy products. This doesn't mean that they are unsuitable for feeding to dogs period (as some proponents of a so called "species appropriate diet" claim), especially things like yogurt and cottage cheese can be excellent additions to the diet.
DanL said:
There are really not different needs for every dog.
I beg to differ. Even intolerances/allergies aside, different dogs have different needs when it comes to the composition of their diet. Some need a higher fat content than others, not because of activity level, but skin and coat health. Others simply can't handle the fairly high fat content of the average raw diet (which is especially high if there's a heavy focus on poultry parts with the skin still on).
I can also tell you from experience that especially the carb content of the diet can make a huge difference in how well a dog does on a home prepared diet, regardless whether it is cooked or raw.
Despite all the claims that "dogs are carnivores" and don't have a need for any carbs in their diet and thus shouldn't be fed any at all, some dogs indeed do better if some are included, and you can tell by body and coat condition how they are affected by tweaks to the diet.
Last but not least, the bone content of the raw diet is also a huge factor. Some dogs don't have issues at all and do fine even with a very high bone percentage, others are more sensitive, or can't handle it at all. I know of a case where an owner came to the conclusion that the only way of feeding his dog raw was using strictly boneless, ground meats and using a calcium supplement to balance the diet. Not even premade raw products with bone ground in worked for this dog.
Three books on feeding raw that I'd like to recommend are:
Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale
Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultze
K9 Kitchen Your Dogs' Diet: The Truth Behind The Hype by Monica Segal
Dan is correct with his statement about the level of education when it comes to vets and feeding home prepared diets. Don't expect a lot of positive feedback, expect a lot of negative hype (thus my recommendation for Monica Segal's book) and if your vet is actually okay with feeding raw, I would say your dog is in good hands at his or her office.
